16 - Vietnam

Summary

The history of “America's Longest War” remains highly contested territory - and will undoubtedly continue so far into the future. When compared to the overarching narrative of World War II, even with all of its subtexts, Vietnam has no epic tale to relate, only episodes. Studs Terkel, perhaps the most famous chronicler of the voices of America in our time, entitled the book of interviews he did about the World War II era, The Good War. “There was a time of good feeling,” veterans told him. “The country felt it had done something worthwhile. The guys came back feeling they had accomplished something.”

Soldiers returning to “the world” from 'Nam - as they put it - often felt contradictory emotions about what they had experienced. For many, satisfaction for duty done as citizen-soldiers mixed with puzzled resentment at the antiwar movement. While still feeling troubled and confused about the ultimate purposes of a war that America seemed unable to win, they resented the stereotype of the veteran strung out by post-traumatic stress syndrome. And while the legend of veterans reviled and spat upon conveniently serves political and ideological needs of various pressure groups, it is certainly the case that for the first time the nation's ambiguous feelings about the war have colored the veterans' perceptions of how they should feel about themselves.